TL;DR
✅ We’re retiring Best Employers in Golf - there will be no annual rankings or awards.
✅ We’re launching Golf Jobs Gold Standard Employer - a membership for organisations committed to ethical hiring, transparency, and a great candidate experience.
✅ Gold Standard Employer focuses on what really matters to jobseekers - clear, honest job ads, transparent salaries, inclusive language, and good communication.
✅ It’s a practical standard we can actively monitor and support - if ads stop meeting the criteria, the badge can be removed.
✅ Members get £15k+ of value per year, in the form of unlimited job ads, priority listings, employer brand promotion, and ongoing feedback - all designed to help them stand out as ethical, effective employers.
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When we first launched Best Employers in Golf, I wanted to shine a light on the fantastic employers in our industry - to recognise the clubs, resorts, suppliers and organisations who go above and beyond for their people and help create truly rewarding careers.
I wanted to give more visibility to those employers so they would stand out among the thousands of job listings - with the ultimate aim of making it quicker and easier for job seekers to find great opportunities.
My hope was that Best Employers in Golf would also inspire others to raise their game, improving standards across the industry.
The programme had loads of interest in the industry and I’m proud of what we set out to do. It’s clear that there’s a gap to fill in promoting great workplaces in golf.
But Best Employers in Golf isn’t the right vehicle for that just now.
As we’ve gone on this journey, we’ve listened closely to what candidates are saying and reflected on what would really make a difference - for candidates, employers and the industry as a whole.
So, rather than step away from the mission, we’re evolving it.
We’re retiring (can you retire something that never happened?) Best Employers in Golf and replacing it with something I believe is stronger, more actionable, and more aligned with Golf Jobs’ specialist role in golf.
Why the change?
There are three big reasons.
1) Candidate-first thinking
The truth is, many candidates are sceptical about industry awards and ‘best X’ accreditations. And we want to make sure anything we do actually means something valuable to job seekers.
Unless we had the resources to run exceptionally comprehensive in-depth audits and verify every aspect of a company’s culture (and we don’t right now), I worried that an award could end up feeling like a hollow gesture.
2) Protecting our reputation and yours
We recognised the limits of what we can see and control.
I don’t want Golf Jobs endorsing a business that meets the criteria on paper, but isn’t delivering behind the scenes. And I don’t want to risk giving a badge to an employer who might later let candidates down, because we can’t easily see behind closed doors.
3) Playing to our strengths
We’re not HR consultants or culture auditors. We’re experts in job advertising, candidate attraction, and helping employers present themselves at their best - ethically, transparently, effectively.
That’s where I believe we can add real value. By focusing on the parts of the hiring process that we can see and, to some extent, control - the job ads, the transparency, the communication - we can help raise standards in a way that’s fair, visible, and trackable.
What we’re doing instead: introducing ‘Gold Standard Employers’
We’re instead launching Golf Jobs ‘Gold Standard Employer’, about celebrating and supporting those who are committed to ethical hiring, best practices, and a great candidate experience - but in a way we can actively monitor and stand behind.
It focuses on what candidates, and we (!) can actually see: clear, honest job ads. Transparent pay ranges. Inclusive, unbiased language. Communication with every applicant.
It gives us - and candidates - something real to hold employers accountable to. If someone stops meeting the standard, we can step in and remove the label.
How it works
- Employers can join the Gold Standard membership at any time, after committing to us that they will meet the following criteria in their job advertising and recruitment process:
- Clear, easy to read job descriptions for all devices
- Transparent salary range info in all job ads
- Communication with all applicants post application
- DEI policy clearly stated
- Outlined process of what to expect in the hiring process
- Clearly stated responsibilities, requirements, culture
- Information about the company and culture to expect
- The membership gives employers a package of employer brand, advertising and marketing support worth over £15k per year, as well as ongoing accountability, support and feedback:
- Unlimited featured job ads on Golf Jobs
- An extended company profile - with input and copywriting support from us if necessary - that will be featured on the Golf Jobs homepage
- Gold Standard Employer badge to display on company profile and all listed jobs
- All ads pinned and highlighted
- 2x Spotlight Blog Posts Per Year
- 2x Spotlight Social Posts Per Year
- 1x Solus Email Per Year
- 3-5 Social Posts Per Month
- Ongoing Feedback And Support From Us To Ensure All Criteria Is Met At All Times
So, what’s next?
I still believe in the mission:
✅ To improve hiring standards across the industry
✅ To highlight and promote the organisations committed to doing things the right way
✅ To give candidates the best possible experience
That’s what Gold Standard Employer is here to do. And I hope you’ll join us on that journey.
If you’d like to find out more, please email me personally at graham@golf-jobs.com.
If you’ve heard enough and would like your organisation to become a Gold Standard Employer, simply fill in this form to join the waiting list.
Thank you to everyone who supported Best Employers in Golf - it was a great starting point, but I strongly believe this is the right step forward and one that can make a bigger impact.
Best wishes,
Graham